30 Days of Night: Dark Days Blu-ray Review

Direct-to-video sequel doesn't quite hold up to the original.

30 Days of Night: Dark Days basically picks up right where the previous film left off. Stella Oleson (now played by Kiele Sanchez, taking over for Melissa George) is out to inform the world about her encounters with vampires in Alaska, but the vampires are trying to silence her at all costs. She eventually finds herself working with a group of mostly inept vampire killers that are tracking a "queen" vampire named Lilith (played by the scenery-chewing Mia Kirshner).

While Dark Days is competently made, the film completely lacks the visual pop of the original, not to mention the first film's eerie, enjoyable hook. Sanchez is certainly capable as Stella, but she lacks the on-screen emotional presence of George, and she's never really given much to do besides question her peers and react to violence. The rest of the cast seems to be on autopilot, with not one standout, except maybe Kirshner, but most fans have seen her play edgy and gothic before.

Despite some limitations, compare this feature with other direct-to-video vampire tales currently out there (think: Bitten or The Lost Boys: The Thirst) and there's a stark shift in quality despite similar budgets. It's clear Dark Days was gunning for a more mature, thoughtful production that attempts, as best it can, to match the visual and tonal aesthetic of the moody first film while staying true to the core story and its characters. And while the film does succeed at being much better than most DTV titles out there in terms of production quality, the story itself just isn't engaging (or original), which is a real shame.

The AVC transfer for Dark Days doesn't quite stack up against the original film's sharp, steely visual design either, despite an atmospheric presentation. Noise and even some minor color banding sneaks into the transfer, but these minor distractions hardly bring down the otherwise pristine encode. The high-res audio mix is less engaging though. Peppered with mild high-end crackles and very little surround usage or bass (barring the film's room-shaking, aggressive action beats), the DTS-HD mix underwhelms at nearly every corner, bringing the film's DTV limitations straight to the surface.

Extras aren't particularly impressive, either. Fans are treated to a feature-length commentary from director/co-writer Ben Ketai and producer J.R. Young which lumbers about, offering very few details about the production or the genesis of the story, from comic to feature film. Ketai ends up describing what's on screen and often has some difficulty recalling his own shooting schedule. It's a shame producers weren't able to wrangle original comic series writer Steve Niles for the commentary. His thoughts on the first two films (and the web series) would have been quite interesting.

Making up for the weak commentary is a featurette gallery (exclusive to the Blu-ray release) that explores the look of the comic vs. the film, the story and how changes were made to connect this sequel with the first feature. Unlike the commentary, this feature details some interesting aspects of the adaptation. There's also a fairly mundane EPK featurette, trailers, BD-Live web connectivity and a DVD copy of the film. Sadly, missing from this release is the 30 Days of Night web series ("Blood Trails" and "Dust to Dust"), both directed by Dark Days director, Ketai. Special features are presented in high definition.

If only Dark Days had a hook as good as the first film. But, without an engaging premise, there's little to separate this DTV vampire outing from others just like it. The film certainly attempts to tackle its story with maturity and atmosphere, but there's little fresh or invigorating about the characters or the villains they encounter. Regardless, fans of the original feature (or the comic series) should give this disc a spin.